Written Answers to Questions

Monday 16 June 2008

Wales

Departmental Accountancy

Mr. Letwin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's (a) chart of accounts and (b) resource account codes and usage descriptions for the 2008-09 financial year. [210980]

As a small Department we use the financial accounting services of Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and adopt MOJ chart of accounts and resource account codes and usage.

We do have an operating cost unit of 40 and business entity codes within the MOJ chart of accounts as tabled:

Business entity codes

WA100

Wales Private Office

WA105

Wales Policy Office

WA110

Welsh Assembly

WY100

GPC ManagementWales

MOJ will be placing copies in the Library.

Wales Office accounts are included within the MOJ resource accounts under Request for Resources (RfR) 3.

Departmental Training

Mr. Hoban:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on training courses for staff in the last (a) 12 months and (b) five years. [210570]

Mr. Paul Murphy:
Information on spending by my Department is held by financial year. On training my Department spent £7,300 in 2007-08 and £55,800 in the last five years.

Mr. Hoban:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what training courses were (a) available to and (b) taken up by civil servants in his Department in the last 12 months. [210585]

Mr. Paul Murphy:
The information is as follows:

(a) Wales Office staff can access a wide range of training courses and other learning opportunities. These are delivered in a number of ways, through both internal and external providers including the Welsh Assembly Government, Ministry of Justice and National School of Government.

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(b) Some training courses are provided corporately, at no cost to the Wales Office, and need only be agreed locally with line managers, information on every course taken is not collated centrally, and so is not readily available.

Fairtrade Initiative

Mr. Moore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2008, Official Report, column 953W, on the Fair Trade initiative, how much his Department spent on refreshments for official departmental meetings and engagements in each of the last three financial years; and what percentage of this total was spent on Fair Trade products. [211562]

Mr. Paul Murphy:
Financial information for my Office is not held in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Refreshments are ordered as part of office supplies in general and their cost is not identified separately.

Home Information Packs

Robert Neill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether any home information packs have been commissioned by his Department. [211929]

Welsh Language

Mr. Crabb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the National Assembly for Wales on a legislative competence order for the Welsh language; what his policy is on the operation of the Welsh Language Act 1993; what representations he has received on the provision of public services in the Welsh language in each of the last three years; and what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the extent of demand for the provision of public services in the Welsh language. [210553]

Mr. Paul Murphy:
I have had a number of recent discussions with the First Minister regarding the proposal for an Order on the Welsh language. The Welsh Language Act 1993 provides a practical framework to promote and develop the use of the Welsh language in Wales. It has proved an effective tool in ensuring Welsh speakers are able to receive key public services in Welsh.

The Wales Office has recorded some 20 representations on the provision of public services in the Welsh language in the last three years. In the first year, these broadly covered Welsh language schemes, translation services, utility bills in Welsh and the use of Welsh in the European Union. In the second year, issues raised included the use of Welsh in the domestic energy sector and provision of Welsh language services in prisons. Issues raised over the last year have included the provision of translation services and future statutory provision on the Welsh Language.

I have not commissioned any recent research on the demand for the provision of public services in Welsh.

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Women and Equality

Consultants

Greg Clark:
To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what payments the Equality and Human Rights Commission has made to (a) Four Communications plc and (b) APCO Worldwide since its creation; and on what date and for what purpose the payment was made in each case. [202269]

Barbara Follett:
The information is as follows:

(a) No payments were made by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to Four Communications plc.

(b) There is a fixed fee agreement with ACPO Worldwide to the value of £65,000 plus VAT for work covering campaigning, media advice and communications planning, however no payments have been made as yet.

Equal Pay: Civil Servants

John Bercow:
To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent discussions she has had on the gender pay gap in the civil service. [204307]

Barbara Follett:
In January this year, I met with ministerial colleagues to discuss the subject of equal pay in the public sector, including the civil service. Action from this meeting is still ongoing, and further ones are likely to be held on the same subject.

House of Commons Commission

Vote Bundle

Norman Baker:
To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many hon. Members have the Vote Bundle delivered to their office within the parliamentary estate. [211085]

Nick Harvey:
190 hon. and right hon. Members have elements of the Vote Bundle delivered to their offices at their request.

Olympics

Olympic Delivery Authority: Welsh Language

Mr. Crabb:
To ask the Minister for the Olympics what recent assessment she has made of the level of demand for the services provided by the Olympic Delivery Authority to be provided in the Welsh language; and if she will make a statement. [210534]

Tessa Jowell:
To date, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has not received any requests for its services to be translated into the Welsh language. In relation to ODA publications, the ODA will translate its publications on request into alternative languages.

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Olympic Games 2012: West Midlands

Mr. Spellar:
To ask the Minister for the Olympics what assessment she has made of the likely effects of the 2012 London Olympic Games on the black country. [210069]

Tessa Jowell:
The Government and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) are working to ensure that the benefits of 2012 reach across the UK. They have established a Nations and Regions Group (NRG) to oversee this work chaired by Charles Allen. The Black Country Consortium Ltd. is a key stakeholder on the West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games to ensure that the people of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton are fully engaged.

The ODA has already awarded 26 contracts to companies registered in the west midlands including a number of black country businesses who have won contracts related to the regeneration programme around the Olympic Park.

Black country businesses are being encouraged to sign up to the CompeteFor system through a series of business briefings being held across the west midlands region. Over 75 businesses attended the recent CompeteFor workshop held in the west midlands. Businesses in every constituency should be encouraged to sign up and get support to compete for and win contracts.

Additionally, two facilities from the black countryAldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton and the University of Wolverhamptonoffering four sports/disciplines, are to be included in the official London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp Guide.

Church Commissioners

Floods: Norfolk

Norman Lamb:
To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners when the Church Commissioners were informed of the proposals set out by Natural England regarding the future maintenance of flood defences in North Norfolk; and what estimate the Commissioners have made of the number of churches at risk of flooding should the proposals be implemented. [210419]

Sir Stuart Bell:
The Archbishops Council's Cathedrals and Church Buildings division is aware of these proposals but was not formally involved in discussions with Natural England.

There is no central estimate of the number of churches at risk of flooding; this would be a matter for individual dioceses.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Angling

Mr. Steen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to regulate the selling of recreational fishing tackle. [211039]

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Jonathan Shaw:
The Marine Bill will include a ban on the use of gaffs and tailers when fishing for migratory or freshwater fish in inland waters or in the six nautical mile zone around the coast of England and Wales. DEFRA does not, however, propose to regulate the selling of fishing tackle.

Batteries: EU Action

Mr. Spellar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department has made on the implementation of the EU Batteries Directive. [210054]

Joan Ruddock:
Responsibility for implementation is being shared between DEFRA and BERR; DEFRA is leading on the portable/household battery provisions, while BERR is leading on the automotive/industrial batteries and single market provisions. BERR is the overall lead Department.

A first consultation on proposals on ways to implement the directive was jointly published by DEFRA, BERR and the devolved Administrations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales on 21 December and closed on 13 March. We are currently preparing a joint official response.

A second consultation with draft regulations will follow in late summer.

As part of the BREW (Business Resource Efficiency and Waste) programme run by DEFRA, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) was asked to pilot collection schemes. WRAP worked in partnership with a range of local authorities, not for profit organisations and others to assess options for cost effective UK household battery collection. The results of these trials will help the Government and battery producers identify the best mechanisms and most efficient methods of collection that could be rolled out across the UK. WRAP'S report is due to be published shortly.

Carbon Emissions

Norman Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward amendments to the Climate Change Bill to provide for the appropriate level of carbon dioxide emission reductions required from transport within the non-traded emissions sector to be determined. [211445]

Mr. Woolas:
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the Second Reading debate of the Climate Change Bill on 9 June 2008.

Climate Change

Annette Brooke:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of any increase in global temperatures of greater than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial mean temperatures on (a) provisions of food and water, (b) flooding and (c) migration. [211024]

Mr. Woolas [holding answer 13 June 2008]: An evaluation of the implications of such an increase in global temperatures on provisions of food and water and 16 Jun 2008 : Column 632W
flooding, can be found in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This is available online.

Annette Brooke:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research he has assessed on the likely level of stabilisation of global temperatures in relation to pre-industrial mean temperatures; what estimate he has made of the likely range of stabilisation temperatures; and what steps he plans to take to reduce the probability of stabilisation at the upper end of the temperature range. [211463]

Mr. Woolas:
Our assessment of future climate change comes from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes (IPCC) 2007 Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). Warming over this century will be dependent on future human emissions of greenhouse gases.

Domestic Wastes: Recycling

Joan Ryan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of household waste was recycled in each London borough in the most recent period for which figures are available. [210492]

Joan Ruddock:
The household recycling and composting rates for all London boroughs are calculated from data submitted to WasteDataFlow by local authorities for the period July to September 2007. This is the most recent period for which data are available. See footnote for exceptions.

Recycling and composting rates are affected by seasonal variation in waste generation and therefore the rates for the financial year 2007-08 may be notably different to the figures given in the following table.

Household recycling and composting rate July to September 2007

Authority

Percentage

Barking and Dagenham

21.50

Barnet

33.93

Bexley

44.17

Brent

21.65

Bromley

34.48

Camden

23.35

City of London

32.29

Croydon

23.38

Ealing

28.32

Enfield

29.33

Greenwich

27.22

Hackney

20.70

Hammersmith and Fulham(1)

23.63

Haringey

27.31

Harrow

39.02

Havering

24.04

Hillingdon

36.38

Hounslow

23.35

Islington

24.54

Lambeth(1)

23.10

Lewisham

20.97

Merton

26.08

Newham

13.58

Redbridge

22.25

Richmond upon Thames

35.75

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Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea(1)

24.28

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

23.95

Southwark

18.88

Sutton

35.43

Tower Hamlets

13.50

Waltham Forest

32.78

Wandsworth(1)

22.87

Westminster City Council

21.48

(1) Recycling rates for these authorities are not available for July to September 2007. The figures are the recycling rates available for the most recent period, April 2006 to March 2007.